Sacred Heart Pioneers football

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Sacred Heart Pioneers football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2025 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team
Sacred Heart Pioneers logo.svg
First season1991; 34 years ago
Athletic directorJudy Ann Riccio
Head coach Mark Nofri
13th season, 74–68 (.521)
Stadium Campus Field
(capacity: 3,334)
Field surfaceSprinturf
Location Fairfield, Connecticut
NCAA division Division I FCS
Conference NCAA Division I FCS independent schools
All-time record166190 (.466)
Bowl record10 (1.000)
Playoff appearances Div. I FCS: 4
Playoff record Div. I FCS: 0–4
Conference titles6
Consensus All-Americans3
ColorsRed and white [1]
   
Website sacredheartpioneers.com

The Sacred Heart Pioneers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Sacred Heart University located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level and is one of two NCAA Division I FCS independent schools. The school's first football team was fielded in 1991. [2] The 2001 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team compiled a perfect 11–0 record and won the school's first conference championship. The team plays its home games at the 3,334-seat Campus Field.

Contents

Beginning in 2024, the team will compete as an NCAA Division I FCS independent. Their departure from the Northeast Conference will coincide with the move of the Sacred Heart Pioneers athletic program to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which has not supported football competition since 2007. They will join the Merrimack Warriors football program, also joining the MAAC as a full member, as the only two schools competing in the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season independent of conference affiliation.

History

Classifications

Conference memberships

Notable former players

Championships

Conference championships

YearCoachConferenceRecord
2001 Jim Fleming Northeast Conference 11–0
2013 Mark Nofri Northeast Conference 10–3 †
2014 Mark Nofri Northeast Conference 9–3 †
2018 Mark Nofri Northeast Conference 7–4 †
2020 Mark Nofri Northeast Conference 3–1
2021 Mark Nofri Northeast Conference 6–1
Conference Championships6

denotes co-championship

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I

Sacred Heart has made four appearances in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. The Pioneers combined record is 0–4.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2013 First Round Fordham L 27–37
2014 First Round Fordham L 22–44
2020 First Round Delaware L 10–19
2021 First Round Holy Cross L 10–13

Future non-conference opponents

Future non-conference opponents announced as of March 13, 2025. [3]

20252026
Stonehill (8/30)at Fordham (9/05)
at Lehigh (9/06)at UMass (9/12)
at LIU (9/13)
at Norfolk State (9/20)
Delaware State (9/27)
Central Connecticut (10/04)
Howard (10/11)
at Montana (10/18)
at Mercyhurst (10/25)
Virginia–Lynchburg (11/08)
Merrimack (11/15)
at Villanova (11/22)

References

  1. SHU Pioneers Official Logo Art . Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  2. Sacred Heart Pioneers Archived 2016-10-25 at the Wayback Machine , College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved October 1, 2016.
  3. "Sacred Heart Pioneers Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 13, 2025.